Menomonie Fire Department and area businesses work together on providing kits
Every school in the Menomonie Area School District will be receiving Stop the Bleed Kits thanks to Menomonie Fire Department Captain Matt Poliak and donations from several local businesses.
Uncontrolled bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death. Poliak noticed Stop the Bleed kits in the Colfax schools and reached out to the Menomonie school district to assess their situation.
"I knew the need was there and was looking into getting Stop the Bleed kits, but we didn't have the funding," said Ramie McMahon, Student Health Services Coordinator for the Menomonie Area School District. "When Matt shared his idea with me, I was very thankful he was willing to step up and help us get the kits."
From his 20 years as a paramedic, Poliak knows how important it is to have supplies available and trained individuals to use them.
"Early bystander intervention saves lives," said Poliak. "The timely use by teachers, staff, and even students is essential in survival stories."
Stop the Bleed Kits will be placed by every AED (Automated External Defibrillator) machine in every school in the Menomonie School District, including St. Joseph's Catholic School and St. Paul's Lutheran School. Additional kits will be placed in other areas, such as the high school shop classrooms.
Each kit includes a tourniquet, emergency trauma dressing, wound packing gauze, bleeding control dressing, vent compact chest seal, trauma shears, gloves, marker, blanket, and instructions.
Each school will also receive a Mass Incident Bag. Each of these contains 40 sealed trauma aid kits.
The kits should arrive this week and be installed over the school district's winter break.
Training to use the kits is vital. Stop the Bleed training will be given to all freshmen in their required health class. Training will be given to teachers and staff during their professional development days and to any other class upon request.
The project cost about $14,000 and was 100% funded by donations from area businesses.
"When I explained what I was doing and how it benefited the schools, it became something people wanted to be a part of. Many people working at these companies have children that go to school in the SDMA, and they didn't hesitate to demonstrate their willingness to support the project," said Poliak. "The success of this project would have never been realized without their help, and I know our community and our schools are very grateful."
Remaining funds from the Stop the Bleed project are going to be used to both replace equipment that has expired in the kits and to purchase training supplies like wound packing gauze for training students and staff in their use.
During a press conference on November 15th, Poliak and McMahon recognized five local businesses that contributed to the Stop the Bleed project.
Area businesses that donated are Dunn Electric Cooperative, ConAgra Brands, WESTconsin Credit Union, Andersen Windows, and Bill's Distributing.
"I know that not only as a Captain of the local fire department but as a father to kids in the school district, it gives me a great sense of pride, as well as relief, to know that our community has our back in promoting public safety," said Poliak. "Their [our donors] participation in this project has the potential to save lives, and in my opinion, there is no greater gesture than to assist in that endeavor."
